


Art for "Be My Escape" by pensgarth

by alby_mangroves



Series: Paperlegends, Merlin Big Bang [3]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Big Bang Challenge, Community: paperlegends, Drawing, Fanart, Illustrations, M/M, Romance, Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-24
Updated: 2012-08-24
Packaged: 2017-11-12 19:55:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/495077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alby_mangroves/pseuds/alby_mangroves
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Art for "Be My Escape" by pensgarth, created for Paper Legends - Merlin Big Bang 2012.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Cover Art and Dividers

**Title:**  Art for  **"[Be My Escape](http://pensgarth.livejournal.com/9635.html)"**  a  **[](http://paperlegends.livejournal.com/profile)[ **paperlegends**](http://paperlegends.livejournal.com/)**  story by **[](http://pensgarth.livejournal.com/profile)[**pensgarth**](http://pensgarth.livejournal.com/)**

 **Artist:**  [](http://alby-mangroves.livejournal.com/profile)[ **alby_mangroves**](http://alby-mangroves.livejournal.com/)  
 **Fandom:**  Merlin  
 **Pairing:** Arthur/Merlin  
 **Rating:** PG-13  
 **Media:**  Conte Crayon and charcoal on Riegel Natura  
 **Warnings:** None  
  
 **Story Summary:** _When his best friend dies, a little bit of Merlin dies with him. He's struggling with self-harm, Hunith's struggling with alcoholism and everything seems hopeless. Then he meets Arthur Pendragon, someone who might be able to put him back together. Except Arthur's got problems too, and not everything is that simple. Can they make it work?_  
  
 **Notes:**  [ **Be My Escape**](http://pensgarth.livejournal.com/9635.html) is a story of a boy's difficult path to self-acceptance and forgiveness, lined with all the potholes of being a teenager, navigating school and complex relationships and a home life so much less than ideal. Merlin's feelings would be familiar to anyone who's ever suffered through the loss of a friend or weathered the conflicting feelings when let down by someone who should have a child's best interests at heart, whose first priority should be a child's safety and well being- their parent.  
It was a challenge once again to draw the boys as teens, and with the added element of guilt and cripplingly low self-esteem sitting heavy on Merlin's shoulders. I wanted to make the images quite confronting, playing on the contrast of keeping up appearances while in internal turmoil.  
  
Congrats to [](http://pensgarth.livejournal.com/profile)[ **pensgarth**](http://pensgarth.livejournal.com/)  on completing her story and writing it all with such compassion and care ♥ and to [](http://the-muppet.livejournal.com/profile)[ **the_muppet**](http://the-muppet.livejournal.com/)  for being a fabulous mod ♥ as well as to [](http://asya-ana.livejournal.com/profile)[ **asya_ana**](http://asya-ana.livejournal.com/)  and [](http://sapphirescribe.livejournal.com/profile)[ **sapphirescribe**](http://sapphirescribe.livejournal.com/)  for their awesome cheering ♥

 

 

 

 

**1\. Cover Art**

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**2\. Dividers**


	2. Listening For Hunith

 

**3\. Listening For Hunith -** _Again, Merlin could hear his mother downstairs. Again, she was drunk. Again he was angrily wiping the tears away, because really, what kind of teenaged boy cries himself to sleep every night?_


	3. Arthur's Party

 

**4\. Arthur's Party -** _Merlin leaned back against the door, breath stuttering in his chest, giddy with happiness that he’d kissed Arthur Pendragon. Things were finally looking up. Arthur put his hand against the door that Merlin had just walked out, heart pounding painfully against his ribcage. He let his forehead fall against the cool wood, fighting back a grin._


	4. Camping Trip

 

**5\. Camping Trip -** _Arthur cut him off with another press of lips, and when Merlin tried to push him away again, he deepened the kiss, slipping his hands under the latter’s shirt to run his fingers down his ribs, just like that first time. “I don’t care if she sees,” he mumbled against the other boy’s lips. Finally, Merlin gave up and kissed back, peeling Arthur’s wet shirt away..._

 

Thank you for looking!


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